A London virtual reality studio that turns TV worlds such as Doctor Who and Peaky Blinders into VR games.
Maze Theory is a London studio that makes virtual reality games, often based on well-known television series. It has made Doctor Who: The Edge of Time, expanded later to more platforms, and Peaky Blinders: The King's Ransom. It also developed Engram, formerly The Vanishing Act, a social VR project about exploring memories, according to a 2022 interview. The studio describes its games as using AI so that characters react to what players do in real time.
A jobs-site profile gives its mission as "To create immersive entertainment experiences that will engage and blow the senses." In a 2022 UploadVR interview its leaders talked about "Storyliving", a way of making VR games where players share a story rather than watching alone, and about building the studio's own original worlds using what it learned from licensed work.
The jobs-site profile lists Maze Theory in Farringdon, London, at The Record Hall on Baldwin's Gardens, and describes the company as remote-first with 21 to 100 employees. The company has close partnerships with the BBC and Banijay. Because the profile and the interview are a few years old, check how the studio is working today.
Named leaders include Russell Harding, Chief Creative Officer, and Marcus Moresby, Creative Director, and the profile lists Ian Hambleton as chief executive. In 2022 the studio said it hired 14 new people, including developers from nDreams, Rebellion and Codemasters. The profile says it holds team socials, studio summits and networking opportunities, and lists benefits such as a pension, unlimited holiday and a monthly wellbeing benefit. These are the company's own claims on a recruitment site, and the profile also shows a low Glassdoor score, so ask current staff about their experience.
VR story games need designers who think about movement and comfort, programmers, artists, sound designers, writers and producers, plus people who manage licences with broadcasters. A good way to prepare is to try narrative VR experiences, notice how they tell a story when you can look anywhere, and learn a game engine such as Unity or Unreal. Licensed projects add another layer, because the studio must keep a show's tone and characters right while making something that works in a headset. Skills in writing, project management, and communication with partners such as broadcasters are as valuable here as technical ones, so many different backgrounds can lead to this kind of studio.
Website: www.mazetheory.com
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